Unlike Zhao Mingxin, Zhao Xiheng's mind wasn't filled with tofu pudding; she understood as soon as Wei Li spoke.
This person never intended for her to leave Dandong from the beginning; everything was malicious bullying and intimidation.
A sudden gust of north wind picked up, blowing even harder. Zhao Xiheng's nose turned red from the cold, her eyes stung, and tears welled up in her eyes. She wasn't feeling wronged or upset; after all, there were far more grievances, both overt and covert, in the palace. She just wanted that scoundrel Wei Li to quickly lower the curtain; she was freezing to death.
Even Wei Li, who was worse than a beast, paused for a long time.
He knew Zhao Xiheng was beautiful many years ago; she was already quite eye-catching even as a little girl, and now she's grown up. Due to geographical reasons, Pingzhou has many people of different ethnicities and mixed races, most of whom are handsome, but none can compare to Zhao Xiheng.
She had thick, black hair, red lips, and white teeth, and looked very sweet. Her eyes were bright and sparkling. However, her lips were now white from the cold, the tip of her pert nose was slightly red, and her body was shivering, which only made her seem more pitiful and endearing.
He had a very thin neck and waist; he could probably strangle someone like that with one hand.
Wei Li tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curving into a wider arc, but he uttered words that seemed inhuman, "Does the little princess want to ask now whether I am deliberately humiliating and toying with you?"
Before Zhao Xiheng could speak, Wei Li answered himself, "Yes, I am indeed humiliating you."
His eyes curved into a smile.
"I want to scare you, make you cry, make you feel isolated and helpless, and then make you suffer."
Zhao Xiheng closed her eyes and cursed loudly in her heart, "Pervert," thinking that this person might be mentally ill.
She had been raised in the deep palace for fifteen years and had never seen this person before. She had no idea what kind of problem this beast had that made him torment her.
However, she couldn't understand the inner thoughts of such a person. Since he was happy to see her cry, she would let him be happy. After all, the situation was still unclear, and staying alive was the most important thing.
General Pingwei killed her without hesitation. It doesn't matter much that a princess like her, who has lost her parents, is dead. Her uncle won't avenge her, and even if he wanted to, the Pingzhou army is strong and powerful, and they can't defeat her. Her death was in vain.
She stopped holding back her tears and even put on some of the acting skills she usually used to fool the empress.
Wei Li watched with great interest as a string of tears fell like pearls, crystal clear, assuming she was truly frightened by him. A secret, twisted, vengeful pleasure rose within him. Wasn't she quite bold years ago? Now she can be scared to tears. How interesting.
So he flung the curtain aside, swung himself onto his horse, and mounted it.
The six horses leading Zhao Xiheng's carriage were so frightened that their legs bent as they moved forward. After only two steps, they all knelt on the ground, causing the carriage to tilt with a clatter. Zhao Xiheng reacted quickly, grabbing the inner wall of the carriage to keep her face from hitting the ground.
"My lord, I'm afraid the horses for the carriage are no longer usable." The black-armored soldier inspected the carriage and reported to Wei Li with a cupped hand.
"The horses from Jinyang are just as useless as their riders," Wei Li mocked, then dismounted from his horse again.
The curtain was lifted again, and this time Wei Li slipped right in, hooked his arm around Zhao Xiheng's waist, and carried her out as easily as picking up a chick, then tossed her onto his horse.
In the midst of her flustered state, Zhao Xiheng grabbed a handful of chestnut cakes, hid them in her sleeve, and took them out.
His movements were anything but gentle, causing her pain all over her body. Zhao Xiheng was already cursing inwardly. The howling wind pierced through her heavy clothes, making her skin and bones ache.
With his hands hidden in his sleeves, he gripped the reins, barely managing to keep his balance.
Wei Li mounted his horse and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Perhaps her head was blocking his view, so he roughly grabbed her neck and pulled her back against his chest. "Let go, give me the reins."
Zhao Xiheng's tears welled up again from the cold, and she obediently handed over the reins and held onto the saddle.
The two were very close, and Zhao Xiheng could smell his scent, which wasn't unpleasant.
Unlike the elegant incense used by the doctors in Jinyang, this was a clean, crisp scent of pine needles, herbs, snow, and cold wind—quite unlike his personality.
Wei Li was like a small furnace; even on such a cold day, being near him made one feel warm, which reduced the chill considerably.
She sighed; that was probably all the usefulness this person had.
Wei Li clearly didn't take Zhao Xiheng's fact that she was a girl to heart. The horse galloped swiftly, and the cold wind blew like knives. After galloping all the way, when they arrived at their destination, Zhao Xiheng felt that her face might even chapped.
She was still satisfied with her face and had no intention of ruining it, so she turned her head slightly, shifted her body to the side, and used her sleeve to shield herself from the wind.
"Hold on tight!" Wei Li scolded her, "If you fall and get trampled to death by a horse, I won't be there to collect your body."
He glanced at Zhao Xiheng and saw that her face was red and her head was hanging down as if she wanted to hide her whole face in her collar. Then he remembered that normal people are usually quite afraid of the cold.
……but.
What does this have to do with him? The worse Zhao Xiheng's life is, the happier he is; he's not a normal person.
Wei Li never denied the fact that he was a beast, psychologically twisted and perverted, but he not only failed to control himself, but even indulged his unbridled behavior.
To be honest, Zhao Xiheng shouldn't have been treated like this at all; it was just his own deadly morbidity at work.
He was unhappy with his own life, so he couldn't stand seeing others doing well, and he couldn't stand seeing others see him unhappy.
Zhao Xiheng's luck seems to be really bad, which is why she met Wei Li.
After a while, Zhao Xiheng heard Wei Li casually ask, "Are you cold?"
Zhao Xiheng was so frozen that she lost all feeling, and her mind slowed down. After a moment of stunned silence, she slowly nodded.
"Want to keep warm?"
"want."
"Beg me."
"Please." Zhao Xiheng said without hesitation.
She's used to being flexible and adaptable; it's just two words, nothing to be ashamed of.
Wei Li's face darkened, filled with intense anger, and he mocked her, "The most favored little princess of the Great Zhou, is she really so spineless?"
Zhao Xiheng had no idea why he had changed his expression. In her mind, Wei Li was already a capricious and unpredictable person. It wouldn't be surprising if he were to slit her throat with his sword in a fit of rage right now. "I've already begged you. You have to keep your word."
Wei Li understood the implication in her words, chuckled, but said nothing. He pulled off his cloak and draped it over Zhao Xiheng's head, leaving no gap.
With the wind blocked out, Zhao Xiheng's face no longer hurt; in fact, it felt quite warm, and her cloak carried Wei Li's refreshing scent. She had just glanced at Wei Li, and despite the cold weather, his face wasn't red at all; it was still pale.
...
Perhaps it's because he's so thick-skinned that even the wind can't cut through him. Zhao Xiheng made a wicked guess. Taking advantage of Wei Li's inability to see, she stuffed chestnut cake into her mouth.
After a while, Wei Li heard Zhao Xiheng's muffled voice coming from inside the cloak, seemingly speaking to no one, "I am no longer the most favored little princess of the Great Zhou. My lord, you are referring to what happened ten years ago."
Since his subordinates all call him "Lord," it shouldn't be wrong for me to call him that too.
Wei Li's thick face turned pale and then red. He pressed her head down again, gripped the reins, and uttered a few cruel words, "That's right, who will pamper you now that your father is dead?" He was relentlessly stabbing Zhao Xiheng in the heart.
Damn! If you don't need your mouth, you can donate it to someone who does!
Zhao Xiheng cursed inwardly.
It's like I've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to run into Wei Li.
The sun was about to set, and Zhao Xiheng still had no idea where they were going.
Perhaps it's Buxian City? The Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion was built in Buxian City. After Wei Li seized Pingzhou, he should move into the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion.
If she were to go to Buxian City, it would be quite a hassle. Dandong is on the border of Pingzhou, while Buxian is in the central-eastern part of Pingzhou. It would probably take two or three days on horseback, and she didn't know if she could survive that long.
As the last rays of sunlight faded, Wei Li's horse stopped in front of a magnificent mansion gate.
He ripped the cloak off Zhao Xiheng's head.
The dim scenery outside then came into Zhao Xiheng's view.
Six torches, each as tall as a person, were lit in front of the door. Their orange-yellow light illuminated the surroundings and reduced the cold.
A group of people knelt before the gate, dressed in fine clothes with animal skin cloaks over them. Their heads were pressed firmly to the snow. The leader's voice trembled, and he looked very frightened. "The Prefect of Ji'an and his family respectfully welcome our lord."
Judging from her tone, she was almost in tears. Wei Li seemed used to it, nodded slightly, dismounted, and carried Zhao Xiheng down like a piece of cargo.
The prefect of Ji'an took them to a spacious courtyard where evergreen pines and cypresses grew.
Wei Li went to speak with the prefect, and the prefect's wife nervously led Zhao Xiheng to a room.
"Young Madam, you're staying here. If you need anything, just let me know. Please don't hesitate to ask."
It must be thanks to Wei Li that the Prefect's wife was also very afraid of Zhao Xiheng, and kept her head down, for fear that Zhao Xiheng would be dissatisfied with her residence.
As she walked along, a pine needle fell into her hair. Zhao Xiheng subconsciously reached out and removed the needle for her.
The prefect's wife was terrified and hurriedly knelt down.
Zhao Xiheng hadn't expected her to be so terrified, so she held up a pine needle in her hand and showed it to her, saying, "Look, this is on your head. I'll get it for you. The ground is too cold, so don't kneel down to talk."
The prefect's wife softened. The lord's youngest wife was the same age as her daughter. She had originally thought she would have the same temperament as the lord, but she was surprised to find that she was kind-hearted. However, she dared not overstep her bounds and withdrew after giving detailed instructions.
Zhao Xiheng surveyed the room's layout, noting that the furnishings were neat and exquisite, and the kang (heated brick bed) in the inner room was currently being heated.
She had grown tired of the journey and found it particularly cold after crossing the Qinling Mountains. In the north, people used beds in the summer and heated brick beds in the winter.
Because Pingzhou was originally the land of Goguryeo, and its population was mixed, including Han Chinese, Buyeo people, Japanese, Jurchens, Evenks, and Xianbei, the style of its houses and interior furnishings was different from that of the places around Da Zhou, forming its own unique style.
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